The Queen of Talk, Oprah Winfrey who incidentally also has a reputation for being a philanthropist, is being sued by a former employee who allegedly suffered in a “hostile work environment” and was wrongfully terminated.

Catherine Dunn, who has been working as an assistant in Oprah’s OWN Network since August 2008, claimed that her Multiple Sclerosis was aggravated because of the stress she experienced at work.

Allegedly, when she was forced to take a leave of absence because of stress, she came back to find out that her position has been given to a younger and non-disabled employee.

Dunn is suing OWN for wrongful termination and discrimination and is asking for an unspecified amount of damages.

A hostile work environment is usually based on discrimination. This occurs when an employee’s work performance is affected because of derogatory or unwelcome comments or conduct based on sex, race, disability or other legally protected characteristics. Aside from the victim, other employees can also suffer from an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Further, if Dunn’s allegations about getting fired because of her medical condition were correct, Oprah is clearly in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under this federal law, qualified individuals with disabilities are protected from employment discrimination – whether in hiring, giving of pay and firing.

Occasionally, because of their disability, some employees would ask for reasonable accommodation or take certain leaves which may be necessary in their condition. The ADA also mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodation to known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability. However, if the accommodation would impose significant difficulty or expense on the part of the employer, such is not necessary.

Failure of the company or the employer to provide reasonable accommodation and to protect their disabled employee from discrimination, hostile work environment, and terminate a disabled employee is against the law. An aggrieved employee who was wrongfully terminated and/or discrimination may recover not just lost wages but also damages against the employee.

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The recent celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the White House was marked by further efforts from the government to advance the rights of the disabled.

President Barack Obama, who also hailed former President George H.W. Bush for having passed the law, signed an executive order to develop model guidelines tp provide more jobs for people with disabilities. He also promised to exert more efforts to hire and retain employees with physical and mental limitations.

Here are some of the efforts the administration is pursuing in the 20^th year of the ADA:

• New rules against disability discrimination shall be published by the Justice Department which would cover more than 80,000 state and local agencies as well as 7 million private companies
• New federal rules to ensure that people with disabilities are provided better access to websites
• A requirement that by 2012, all building constructions must meet the design standards for doors, windows, elevators, and bathrooms of stores, hospitals, restaurants, and other facilities.

During the celebration, performances were given by a deaf actress Marlee Matlin as well as Patti LaBelle. President Obama also praised Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I, who is paralyzed from his chest down.

The ADA is a trail-blazing law for Americans with disabilities – it makes it unlawful to discriminate against qualified individuals with a disability in employment as well as in any State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.

Just like ordinary employees, disabled workers have rights in the workplace. More importantly under the ADA, employers cannot discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability in the following employment practices:

• Recruitment
• Pay
• Hiring
• Firing
• Promotion
• Job assignments
• Training
• Leave
• Benefits
• Other employment related activities

Disabled employees may file a complaint against their employers for violations of the provisions of the ADA either through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or through an employment attorney.

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In Livingston, Foster Farms is now being sued by a former employee for wrongful termination as the poultry company allegedly fired her for being pregnant.

The suit, which was filed by Sara Supple, alleged that she first went to the company’s HR department to inquire about pregnancy benefits. She was told to return but 2 or 3 hours afterwards, she was called back into HR and was immediately suspended over time card violations.

When Supple was called back to work, she was suddenly terminated based on the problem with her time cards. However, Supple’s lawyer alleged that his client never received any warnings or had any issue about her time cards prior to the time she asked for information on pregnancy benefits.

Under federal and state laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against and treat employees unfairly on the basis of their pregnancy. It is unlawful for employers with at least 15 workers to:

• Refuse to hire a pregnant woman
• Fire or force an employee to resign just because she is pregnant
• Refuse to give accrued benefits or leaves
• Retaliate against an individual for filing a pregnancy discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation

Take note that when companies refuse to offer sick leaves, this can be considered discriminatory especially against pregnant employees. Further, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks off without pay to give birth, adopt, or to care for a sick child or family member.

Women have the right to keep their jobs as long as they are able to perform it. At the most, even if they get pregnant and would have to take time off work to give birth or care for a new child, they must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees who are disabled.

If you are pregnant and lost your job or benefits because of your condition, you may rightfully file a complaint against your company or former employer. There is however, a time limit as to filing a claim so get in touch with a gender discrimination attorney or a pregnancy discrimination lawyer to help prepare your case.

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Coffee conglomerate Starbucks has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former teen barista in California for an undisclosed amount of money.

Kati Moore, who was 16 years old when she first worked in Starbucks, claimed that the company failed to protect her when her 24-year-old supervisor Tim Horton, would demand for sex.

Allegedly, Horton sent her hundreds of text messages wherein he would summon her for sex and even texted her, “I’d like to f— tomorrow.” Moore also stated that other Starbucks supervisors and managers were aware of what was happening but did not do anything to stop it.

In his defense, Horton claimed that he did not know Moore was 16. He was sentenced to serve four months in prison when he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of illegal sex with a minor.

Although Starbucks initially said that it was confident it would not be found at fault since Horton and Moore supposedly concealed their illegal relationship, the company changed its mind and instead cut a deal with the complainant.

While Starbucks has a concrete policy against sexual harassment and managers dating baristas, it actually had no rules or policies regarding relationships with teen employees under the age of 18.

The settlement between Moore and Starbucks also did not disclose whether the company would create new rules to protect its teen employees against sexual harassment.

According to experts, Moore’s case is not an uncommon occurrence in the workplace, particularly in fast food restaurants. Among all other employees, teen workers are more vulnerable to sexual harassment. In fact, according to a study from Maine, 1 out of 3 high school students experience unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.

Under the law, it is illegal for an employer or a person with influence or moral ascendency to sexually harass an employee. This offense is further exacerbated if the employee is a minor as for most states, it is a crime to have sex with a minor.

Teenagers are vulnerable to many workplace or labor law violations simply because often, they do not know any better. It is the duty of the employer to make sure that the rights of their teen employees are protected and upheld.

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Consumers, watch out! Despite the overwhelming headlines about Toyota’s dangerously defective vehicles, there are other cars out there that are just as unsafe, if not more so.

In an article from Forbes.com, a list of the worst made cars on the road was compiled and surprisingly, the beleaguered Japanese car giant did not even make it on the list. The results were gathered from the Consumer Reports studies and Vehicle Dependability Study from J.D. Power and Associates.

This is a round-up of the “unsafest” cars on the road today which shockingly, featured vehicles from General Motors. Also, the current leader in automotive sales, Ford, got really poor ratings for its Ford F-250, which was even rated among the worst in overall value and safety performance.

•    Cadillac Escalade (SUV)
•    Chevrolet Aveo (Compact Car)
•    Chevrolet Colorado (Pick-up truck)
•    Dodge Nitro (SUV)
•    Ford F-250 (Pick-up truck)
•    GMC Canyon (Pick-up truck)
•    Jeep Wrangler (SUV)

Ironically, the most vehicles on the worst cars list are SUVs and pick-up trucks. According to analysts, while trucks and SUVs aren’t necessarily unsafe, the engineering updates and safety improvements for such vehicles lagged because car makers capitalized on making these vehicles “family-oriented”.

But for road safety, size isn’t the only thing that counts. Big and bulky SUVs and pick-up trucks are actually more prone to dangerous rollover accidents. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 58 percent of SUV occupants while 47 percent of pickup occupants were killed in rollover crashes last 2008.

It is appalling that despite the public flogging and impending $16 million fine to be imposed on Toyota for their dangerously defective cars, federal regulators seem to have missed acting on the above-mentioned worst-made vehicles.

Stricter standards should be implemented across the board in order to make sure that all manufacturers create quality and safe products — GM and Ford should not be an exemption to the rule just because they’re American manufacturers. A mere slap on the wrist is alarming and detrimental to all consumers who may get involved in an accident because of dangerously designed or defective cars.

In case you are involved in an accident with any of these above-mentioned vehicles or other cars you believe is defective or dangerously designed, consult with a car accident attorney or a product liability lawyer to evaluate your chances of making a successful claim for compensation and damages.

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